Ventilating apparatus



March 24, 1964 s. v. WINTON 3,

VENTILATING APPARATUS Filed May 2, 1961 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR I ATTO RNEY March 24, 1964 s. v. WINTON 3,125,869

VENTILATING APPARATUS Filed May 2, 1961 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 ATTORNEY March 24, 1964 s. v. WINTON VENTILATING APPARATUS 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed May 2, 1961 pmxi INVENTOR NM M 0m 5% United States Patent 3,125,869 VENTILATING APPARATUS Sidney V. Winton, 5572 Netherland Ave, New York, N.Y. Filed May 2, 1961, Ser. No. 107,087 3 Claims. (Cl. 62-317) This invention relates generally to ventilating apparatus, and more particularly to ventilating devices for drawing off fumes from the area above kitchen stoves and the like.

A salient feature of the invention is the provision of a ventilating hood which is adaptable to be cut to size on the job for installation over kitchen stoves. Accordingly, the hood which is made of an integral sheet of metal is initially formed with a rear wall, a top wall and a downwardly extending forward wall. Separate end plates are provided with means for removably securing them in position at either end of said hood after the hood is cut to size at the installation site in accordance with a series of guide lines that are imprinted, scored, or otherwise im pressed upon the interior of the hood.

In one embodiment, the attaching means for each end plate takes the form of frictionally engaging sheet metal tabs that either form part of the end plate or are provided on a separate bead element.

Another feature of the present invention is the provision of knock out or removable sections from either the rear, top or forward wall of the hood, depending upon whether its intended function is for exhaust of eflluents and vapors from above the kitchen stove, or for recirculation of air into the kitchen.

A still further feature of the invention is the incorporation of a refrigeration element within the hood with a novel arrangement for cooling a grill upon which greasy fumes and efliuents from the stove may be condensed. Furthermore, the refrigeration element cools the air for recirculation into the kitchen in order to compensate for the heating elfect of the kitchen stove. Additionally, a secondary filtering pad may be positioned adjacent the grill for enhancing the filtering action of the ventilating apparatus.

Still other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the specification.

The features of novelty which are believed to be characteristic of the invention are set forth herein and will best be understood, both as to their fundamental principles and as to their particular embodiments, by reference to the specification and accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is perspective view of a portion of a kitchen showing one embodiment of the ventilating apparatus of the present invention installed above a kitchen stove;

FIG. 2 is a greatly enlarged perspective view, partly exploded, showing details of structure of the ventilating hood shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a still further enlarged elevation of an end plate of the ventilating apparatus;

FIG. 4 is a greatly enlarged section view taken on line 4-4 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a bottom interior view of the kitchen ventilator shown in FIGS. 1 and 2;

FIGS. 6, 7 and 8 are various securing means for the end plates, as alternatives for the embodiment shown in FIG. 4;

FIG. 9 is a section view of the central portion of the ventilator hood shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, illustrating a modification of the ventilator;

FIG. 10 is a still further modification of the ventilator shown in FIGS. 1 and 2;

FIG. 11 is a still further embodiment in a partly ex- 3,125,869 Patented Mar. 24., 1964 ploded view showing a knock out element for adapting the hood for use with a flue or the like;

FIG. 12 is a central section view of an alternative embodiment of the hood shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, wherein a power unit is employed;

FIG. 13 is a further variation of the embodiment shown in FIG. 12; and

FIG. 14, partly in cross-section, illustrates the manner in which an air cooling element and filtering apparatus are incorporated into the hood shown in FIGS. 12 or 13.

Referring now to the drawings in detail, FIG. 1 shows a section of a kitchen or the like wherein a kitchen stove 21 is installed, the top of said stove having a plurality of gas or electric burners for heating pots and pans. Mounted between a pair of cabinets 22 and 23 and underneath another pair of cabinets 24 and 25, is one embodiment of the hood of the present invention. This hood, made of sheet metal, generally designated 26, comprises a flat top wall 2'7 which is arrayed in a horizontal position when installed, a vertical back wall 28, and a front wall 29, the latter projecting forwardly and downwardly in a curved manner, some parts of said front wall being convex and other parts being concave, as determined by de sign requirements.

Hood 26 is initially formed out of a unitary piece of sheet metal, or the like, comprising only its top wall, rear wall, and front wall, without any portions thereof being bent or formed into end walls, or the like, as with prior devices of this kind. In order to arrange for the accommodation of hood 26 into various installations that might be of differing dimensions, particularly as obtains between the opposing facing walls of cabinets 22 and 23 (FIG. 1), it will be noted from the illustration in FIG. 5 that the interior surface of hood 26 is marked with a suitable ink or the like, or scored with an indenting tool or the like, to form a plurality of evenly spaced apart dashed lines 31 measured from center line 32 whereby the hood may.

be readily cut with tin snips or the like by the operator installing the device in order properly to fit the hood into the space between cabinets 22 and 23. These guide lines serve not only as a measuring device but also serve as guide lines for the metal cutters or tin snips that are utilized to cut the hood to size. Thus, hood 26 may be made initially of a predetermined standard length A, and shortened, in accordance with the guide lines, to a suitable length between A and B, depending upon the space requirements of the installation site. The spacing between lines 31 may be established at a suitable dimension such as one inch, one-half inch, or the like, as may be convenient or practicable.

After the hood is cut to proper size for installation, a

A pair of end plates 35 and 36 are attached to the open ends of hood 26, whereupon the assembled hood is secured by suitable means such as bolts, screws or the like, into position as shown in FIG. 1. End plates 35 and 36 each comprise a rectangular section 37, and an integral,

forwardly extending section 38 whose outlines conform to the curvature of front wall 29 of hood 26.

The rear edge of end plate sections 37, respectively, are bent inwardly and cut to form a pair of spaced apart tabs 41 and an intermediate tab 42 therebetween, tabs 41 and 42 being angularly disposed in respect of each other to form a wedging clamp for frictionally engaging the respective side edge of rear wall 28. The top edges of end plate sections 37, respectively, are likewise bent inwardly -and cut to form a pair of spaced apart tabs 43 and an forward sections 38 of end plates 36 and 37 are connected to forward wall 29 of hood 26. A connector element, generally designated 47, is formed of a unitary elongated strip of sheet metal, reverse bent in such a manner as to form an outer, vertical lip 48 and a horizontal lip 49. The edge of lip 49 terminates in two series of alternately spaced apart tabs 51 and 52. Tabs 51 extend downwardly, and together with downwardly extending lip 48 from which they are slightly spaced apart, they frictionally engage the upper edge of the forwardly extending respective end wall 38 of end plate 36. Tabs 52 extend horizontally and, together with lip 49 from which they are slightly spaced apart, they frictionally engage the outer respective edge of forwardly and downwardly extending front wall 29 of the hood.

Thus, by means of tabs 41, 42, 43, 44, 51 and 52, end plates are readily fitted to, and secured in position over, the initially open ends of hood 26 to form the complete hood enclosure as shown in FIGS. 1 and 11, for example. In some cases when it is intended to refit the hood into another shorter installation or its size adjusted by either or both ends, end plates 36 may readily be removed by the application of a reasonable pulling force and thereafter replaced in the manner described hereinabove.

Alternative means of securing end plates 36 to hood 26 are disclosed in FIGS. 6, 7 and 8. In FIG. 6 the top edges of end plate 37 are bent over to form a horizontally extending flange 55. An L-shaped bar 56 is connected by means of its downwardly extending leg 57 to the interior wall of end plate 37 by welding or the like. Bar 56 is spaced apart from and forms an elongated slot with flange 55, said slot accommodating the top edge portion of hood 27 by a friction fit whereby said end plate is secured tosaid hood.

In FIG. 7, an elongated curved beaded element 58 is provided for securing end plates 35 and 36 to top wall 27 and front wall 29. Bead 53 has a plurality of spaced apart, inwardly extending, threaded stems 59 which are engaged by corresponding nuts 61 which urge a retainer bar 62 against the inner surfaces of top wall 27 and forward wall 2 and end plates 35 and 36' to cause said parts to be firmly secured to said bead.

In FIG. 8, a bead 63 made of a suitable plastic or metallic material is provided with a pair of perpendicularly arrayed elongated slots 64 and 65. Slot 64 frictionally accommodates the edge portions of top wall 27 and front wall 29, while slot 65 frictionally accommodates the top edge portions of end plates 35 and 36 for forming a unitary hood structure.

A recirculating vent for the hood may be provided as in FIG. 9 in the form of an opening 67 in forward wall 29' intermediate its front and rear edges, and intermediate its side edges. Positioned across said opening may be a mesh screen 68, if desired. Alternatively, FIG. shows a ventilating screen 69 positioned across opening 71 located at the top edge of front wall 29 of the hood structure.

In another embodiment of the present invention the ventilating hood may be constructed in such a manner as to serve either as an exhaust, or as a recirculation device, as shown in FIGS. 11, 12 and 13, for example. Top wall 27 may be scored by a suitable indenting tool or the like at respective parallel lines 73 and 74, whereby a rectangular panel 75 may be knocked out as desired, to form an opening 76in order to accommodate the resulting aperture to an exhaust opening in the installation site for drawing off fumes. Furthermore, front wall 29 may have a central raised portion '77, the front edge of which forms, together with the surface of front wall 29, a somewhat rectangular opening 78 which is normally covered by a plate 79. When a power unit 81. is incorporated into the hood, as shown in FIGS. 12 and 13, the arrangement in FIG. 12 shows the manner in which the hood operates as an exhaust unit with fumes being urged by the fan (not shown) in power unit 81 through exhaust aperture 76 while aperture 78 is blocked off by plate 79. When, as shown in FIG. 13, plate 75 remains in position within top wall 27, and plate 79 is removed and replaced by a screen element 82, the ventilating hood operates as a recirculating unit with air being forced through aperture 78 back into the room. Alternatively, a knock out plate 83 on the rear wall 28 of the apparatus may be provided in order to accommodate the location of the exhaust aperture to the vent at the installation site which may be located at the rear of the hood instead of above it.

The ventilating hood in FIG. 14 incorporates in the bottom wall 84 thereof filtering and air cooling apparatus which constitutes a filtering grill 85 made of a suitable expanded metallic material or the like in which there is embodied a cooling coil or tube 86, having a plurality of turns and which extends across an opening 87 in said bottom wall. Positioned above grill 85 is a filter pad 88 made of a suitable fibrous filtering material which may contain activated charcoal or the like, for entrapping the fumes that arise from stove 21. Fumes and the like are forced through grill 85 and pad 88 by means of a fan 91 which causes said fumes to be ejected through a grill 9?. on front wall 29 of the hood. By this means, the fumes and air-borne greases arising from kitchen stove 21 are condensed upon cooled grill 85 and thereafter filtered by pad- 88, after which the cooled and cleansed air is passed out again through grill 92 into the kitchen, which is thereby made more comfortable. Fan 91 is rotated by means of electric motor 93 connected thereto by bevel gears M and 95. Motor 93, which is connected to the interior of hood 26, also rotates a fan 97 which blows air upon a bank of condensing coils 98 connected on one end to cooling coils 86, the other end of which is connected to a compressor 99 which is operated by an electric motor 101, as in conventional air conditioning systems.

By means. of the arrangement shown in FIG. 14, the positioning of an air filtering and air cooling apparatus within the ventilating hood provides means for trapping a greater amount of fumes and greasy effluents emanating from the kitchen stove by means of the cooled condensing grill 85 than has heretofore been possible by other filtering means. Also, the combination apparatus serves to recirculate cooled air into the kitchen to counteract the heating effect of the stove itself, thereby providing more comfortable working conditions.

In another embodiment contemplated by the present invention, where it is. not feasible to have a complete refrigerating apparatus incorporated in the hood, grill 85 may also be cooled for fume condensation purposes by connecting tubes 86 to a water circulating source such as the water supply system of the household, or the like. By this means, grill 35 will be maintained at a considerably lower temperature than that of the effluents from the stove, whereby condensation of the fumes upon the grill can take place.

Other equivalent means for cooling grill 85 may be utilized, such as the Peltier effect, which is the thermodynamic converse of the thermoelectric (Seebeck) effect where electric current is passed through a juncture of two dissimilar conductors.

It is claimed:

1. A ventilating hoodcomprising a sheet metal enclosure, an intake aperture and an outlet aperture, a refrigerating apparatus positioned within said enclosure, 21 grill positioned across said intake aperture, cooling coils in said refrigerator unit, said coils extending through said grill for cooling the latter, a fan operated by said refrigcratorunit, said fan causing. air to be drawn through said grill upon which materials in efiiuents above a stove become condensed, said fan thereafter causing said air to pass through said outlet aperture.

2. A ventilating hood according to claim 1, and further comprising a filtering pad positioned adjacent said grill, the air passing said grill being caused by said fan to pass through said filtering pad prior to being expelled from said exhaust aperture.

3. A ventilating hood comprising a sheet metal enclosure, an intake aperture and an outlet aperture, a grill positioned across said intake aperture, cooling coils in said grill, means for causing air to pass through said cooling coils and through said intake aperture and passing said air through said outlet aperture, and means for cooling said cooling coils.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Sonntag Feb. 13, 1945 Borgerd Dec. 1, 1953 Buttner Mar. 13, 1956 Callan Sept. 18, 1956 Atwood Dec. 2, 1958 Richardson Sept. 1, 1959 Wood May 9, 1961 

3. A VENTILATING HOOD COMPRISING A SHEET METAL ENCLOSURE, AN INTAKE APERTURE AND AN OUTLET APERTURE, A GRILL POSITIONED ACROSS SAID INTAKE APERTURE, COOLING COILS IN SAID GRILL, MEANS FOR CAUSING AIR TO PASS THROUGH SAID COOLING 